Bertha Marian Holt

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Bertha Marian Holt, American children’s advocate (born Feb. 5, 1904, Des Moines, Iowa—died July 24, 2000, Creswell, Ore.), together with her husband, Harry, founded Holt International Children’s Services, a Eugene, Ore.-based agency that specialized in international adoptions. After having six children of their own, the Holts were deeply moved by a film depicting abandoned Amerasian children in South Korean orphanages. The Baptist couple, believing that these orphans were the responsibility of Americans, decided to adopt eight Korean children. As a result of their efforts to facilitate foreign adoptions, the U.S. Congress passed the 1955 Bill for Relief of Certain War Orphans. This paved the way for the Holts to adopt four boys and four girls from South Korea and to place more than 30,000 children from 15 countries in American homes. Even after the death in 1964 of her husband, “Grandma” Holt remained committed to the agency’s mission. She traveled extensively, worked to improve conditions in orphanages, and petitioned other countries to establish adoption programs. She was named National Mother of the Year in 1966 by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, received South Korea’s Order of Civil Merit, Mugunghwa Medal, in 1995, and was awarded the Kiwanis World Service Medal in 2000.

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